Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo News 2023

I went for another of my morning exercise visits to Colchester Zoo today - these are the new things I noticed:

Births
  • I managed to see both the fledgling crowned pigeon and one of the crested wood partridge chicks mentioned in the post above.
  • I also saw a quite well-grown crowned crane chick in Edge of Africa, which I don't think has been mentioned anywhere yet.

Developments
  • The Barbary macaque enclosures have been split up, with the elevated opening between the old colobus/patas enclosure and the lion separation display now boarded up. All the macaques I could see were in the lion separation area.
  • The old hunting dog enclosure developments are nearly finished, with the enlarged viewing area now having benches present that you can access and sit on. The signage has been changed from being 'closed for essential maintenance' to 'this enclosure is currently empty', which makes me hope that news of what will go in there will be released soon. The updated signage also mentions that this is part of the new overarching master plan.

On the subject of the master plan, I noticed this news article from a couple of days ago - Colchester Zoo have put in an application to remove 500,000 tonnes of sand from an area to the southeast of the zoo that currently contains a rectangular field used for farming, plus areas currently used for overspill parking. This is the initial enabling stage for the zoo's expansion. The material will be moved across the road to Stanway Quarry, if the application is approved.
Plans to offload 500k tonnes of sand from site as part of Colchester Zoo expansion
 
DesertRhino150 said:
  • The old hunting dog enclosure developments are nearly finished, with the enlarged viewing area now having benches present that you can access and sit on. The signage has been changed from being 'closed for essential maintenance' to 'this enclosure is currently empty', which makes me hope that news of what will go in there will be released soon. The updated signage also mentions that this is part of the new overarching master plan.
Click to expand...
  • If it is a long term part of the future masterplan, maybe it is possible to tell the new inhabitants from the masterplan map?
 
Also visited the zoo today, took lots of photos so these will be going up in the gallery soon. Was particularly nice to see the little crowned crane, watched them for a while and the parents are very protective indeed - dik-diks weren't allowed within 10 feet of the little one :D.

More broadly speaking, as this was my first visit in a fair while and my memory of the last visit was quite fuzzy, I was very impressed by some of the exhibits. I think the series of predominantly bamboo-planted exhibits for red panda, gibbon, hornbill etc are great and the binturong exhibit has to be one of the best in the continent for the species - massive space, so many climbing opportunities, lots of privacy, yet the binturongs were still frequently visible!

Gelada troop was interesting to watch, about 5 or 6 young - bodes well for the future of the species at the zoo. The small rainforest walkthroughs scattered around near the entrance area were really nicely done I thought, quite clean and well thought through although the glass of the tortoise exhibit in the (otherwise excellent) Iguana Forest was really quite foggy. In all honesty, nothing at the zoo strikes me as off with regards to exhibitry - every animal has an (at least) adequate exhibit, with some really nice ones scattered in there. I appreciate the effort to name every little exhibit, even when the species exhibited are perhaps not the biggest crowd-pleasers (Iguana Forest, Island Dwellers, Feathers of the Forest etc.).

Some issues I noticed which might just be me were that some of the circulation and path placement was a bit odd? I understand in the more up and down areas of the zoo the paths might not be very logical but even in flat zones like the African area it sometimes struck me as quite odd, a lot of doubling back or detours. As well as of course the pretty noticeable lack of birds - other than the pocket of bird of prey exhibits, Feathers of the Forest and the flamingo pond, it really is slim pickings with regards to our avian friends.

Would be interesting to see if these thoughts resonate at all with regulars/others who have visited, but overall a lovely day at a lovely, and probably underrated zoo!
 
amur leopard said:
Also visited the zoo today, took lots of photos so these will be going up in the gallery soon. Was particularly nice to see the little crowned crane, watched them for a while and the parents are very protective indeed - dik-diks weren't allowed within 10 feet of the little one :D.

More broadly speaking, as this was my first visit in a fair while and my memory of the last visit was quite fuzzy, I was very impressed by some of the exhibits. I think the series of predominantly bamboo-planted exhibits for red panda, gibbon, hornbill etc are great and the binturong exhibit has to be one of the best in the continent for the species - massive space, so many climbing opportunities, lots of privacy, yet the binturongs were still frequently visible!

Gelada troop was interesting to watch, about 5 or 6 young - bodes well for the future of the species at the zoo. The small rainforest walkthroughs scattered around near the entrance area were really nicely done I thought, quite clean and well thought through although the glass of the tortoise exhibit in the (otherwise excellent) Iguana Forest was really quite foggy. In all honesty, nothing at the zoo strikes me as off with regards to exhibitry - every animal has an (at least) adequate exhibit, with some really nice ones scattered in there. I appreciate the effort to name every little exhibit, even when the species exhibited are perhaps not the biggest crowd-pleasers (Iguana Forest, Island Dwellers, Feathers of the Forest etc.).

Some issues I noticed which might just be me were that some of the circulation and path placement was a bit odd? I understand in the more up and down areas of the zoo the paths might not be very logical but even in flat zones like the African area it sometimes struck me as quite odd, a lot of doubling back or detours. As well as of course the pretty noticeable lack of birds - other than the pocket of bird of prey exhibits, Feathers of the Forest and the flamingo pond, it really is slim pickings with regards to our avian friends.

Would be interesting to see if these thoughts resonate at all with regulars/others who have visited, but overall a lovely day at a lovely, and probably underrated zoo!
Click to expand...

Great review. I enjoy Colchester a lot too and there’s a good number of really nice exhibits. It is a bit meandering - it took me a few visits to even find all the paths!
 
I went for a brief visit this morning to Colchester - the only thing I really noticed was that all the building work on the old hunting dog enclosure was now finished, with both viewing areas now having the 'this enclosure is currently empty' signage.

Personally, I am expecting the enclosure to either be home to more African hunting dogs or be a new enclosure for something already at the zoo - if it is anything else, that would be a bonus.
 
I went for a couple of hours' visit to Colchester today (the third visit to a zoo in a week) - this is what I saw or heard that I think was of note:

Developments
  • The old pied tamarin enclosure (visible from the new corridor accessing Worlds Apart by bypassing the reptiles) seems to be having some work done to it. There is some indoor housing adjoining it that I have never noticed before as well.
  • The old scarlet ibis aviary near the Inca Trail penguin enclosure has had the lower mesh removed; it seems this may also be being renovated.
  • I didn't see any live animals or signage, but the old red panda enclosure visible from the lemur island bridge has a wooden animal carry crate in it, hidden among the vegetation.
General observations
  • The old hunting dog enclosure is still unoccupied, but the left-side viewing area had a sort of talk going on, where there seemed to be general questions being asked about the zoo's masterplan - I didn't stop to listen, but the one thing I overheard as I walked past was that the gorillas were planned to be the first development. It seems a bit odd, as the gorillas are supposed to be far beyond the current zoo's boundary.
 
The latest edition of Colchester Zoo's magazine (Zoo Life) has recently launched - there isn't much new of immediate note, but one thing I did notice a few things on the masterplan map have been changed (on pages 12-13):
  • The 'refurbished savannah paddock' label has been replaced with one for an elevated boardwalk, although that still suggests that the current Kingdom of the Wild and elephant paddocks will be combined.
  • Several of the new animal houses (for the elephants, gorillas and orangutans) are also labelled. I don't think any of this is obviously new, although it does suggest that the orangutans will have just the one outdoor enclosure.
  • The labels for the houses mostly have replaced information about visitor facilities (such as gardens and coach parking), but also reference to the extended land train have been removed.
The 'past species' section on page 21 is almost all from a double-page spread in the anniversary guidebook - the only animal in the guidebook not shown in the magazine section is the keel-billed toucan.

Although perhaps not relevant to the zoo itself, but it is nice to read about the zoo's Umphafa Reserve in South Africa as well - it seems the projects for this year are reintroducing four cheetahs and twenty African buffalo, both new species for the reserve.

The magazine can be flipped through online in the link below:
Zoo Life Magazine | Colchester Zoo
 
So I don't think this is a secret so can probably say.

Can't remember who said it in the thread but spneone suggested the old painted dog enclosure would be for a current animal at the zoo and you were correct.

The male cheetahs will be moving into the enclosure and are being crate trained so can be moved back to female for breeding as and when as they currently timeshare the enclosure they are all in.

Longer term the male cheetah will move into where the warthogs currently are.
 
I went for another morning visit to Colchester today (I am also going again on Sunday). This is what I noticed:
  • No further updates have been made to the old hunting dog (future cheetah) enclosure, or the old pied tamarin enclosure.
  • However, the old scarlet ibis aviary has really developed. New glass has been put in to replace the removed mesh, and a new climbing frame and several platforms have been raised inside. I am now speculating whether it will be for something new or an additional enclosure for something already at the zoo.
  • All signage for the rock hyrax at Aardvark Burrow has been removed, but the website does say they are simply off-show. I'm wondering if they may turn up somewhere else.
  • I saw the animal in the old red panda enclosure, visible from the bridge - it is another Kirk's dik-dik. That makes three enclosures with them (their main enclosure at Edge of Africa, plus in the separation enclosure in the giant anteater area).
  • In Feathers of the Forest, there is another nest from the crested wood partridges in the corner near the exit - I counted four eggs.
  • In more general observations, some of the reptiles were more active than I have ever seen them - one of the anacondas in River's Edge was climbing up at the very back of its enclosure, and I also saw one of the Solomon Island skinks active for the first time.
 
Only really one thing of note from my morning visit to Colchester today:
  • I saw a keeper taking an animal carry case into the old scarlet ibis aviary and a sign has been put up next to the window - as I sort of expected, the enclosure is now home to the rock hyrax.
 
The zoo have now released a news article about some of the developments, including the new rock hyrax enclosure. This includes some photographs of the enclosure, which has been refurbished after standing empty for nearly a decade:
We're Continuously Evolving | Colchester Zoo

Colchester have also put up an article about the upcoming dinosaur development, due to open in early 2024. I would personally be much more excited about this if the models looked halfway decent - the Spinosaurus in particular looks spectacularly bad. It's probably something I'd walk through once after it opens and then never go through again:
DINO-MITE Development | Colchester Zoo
 
DesertRhino150 said:
Colchester have also put up an article about the upcoming dinosaur development, due to open in early 2024. I would personally be much more excited about this if the models looked halfway decent - the Spinosaurus in particular looks spectacularly bad. It's probably something I'd walk through once after it opens and then never go through again: DINO-MITE Development | Colchester Zoo
Click to expand...
You can walk through it once, something that a genuine non-avian dinosaur will never do
 
Visiting for the first time at the end of the month - any recommendations appreciated. Particularly interested in any rare/unusual (in zoos) species.
 
JamesB said:
Visiting for the first time at the end of the month - any recommendations appreciated. Particularly interested in any rare/unusual (in zoos) species.
Click to expand...
Some rare highlights are:
  • Collared Mangabey
  • Guianan Bearded Saki
  • Maneless Zebra
  • Blue Duiker (only ones in the UK)
  • Wreathed Hornbill as well as Mindanao and Northern Rufous Hornbills (only ones in the UK for each species)
  • Central African Rock Python (only ones in the UK)
  • Giant Asian Pond Turtle
  • Gariau Forest Dragon
  • Giant Plated Lizard
  • Slender-Snouted Crocodile
  • Helmeted Toad (only ones in the UK)
 
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